Barnes-Jewish West adds Washington U. GI doctors

Washington University continues to expand its presence at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, with a team of faculty gastroenterologists joining the hospital’s physician lineup.

More than $17 million has been invested over the past two years in Washington University’s expansion at the Creve Coeur campus, adding services and therapies previously available only at Barnes-Jewish’s main campus in the Central West End. This includes the 2008 opening of a new Siteman Cancer Center facility at Barnes-Jewish West, the installation of a linear accelerator for radiation oncology services and increased radiology and pediatric services.

Now the West County hospital’s digestive health services also are getting a boost with the addition of five Washington University interventional GI doctors. Coming to Barnes-Jewish West are Dr. Steven Edmundowicz, who is director of interventional endoscopy at Washington University, and Drs. Sreenivasa Jonnalagadda, Dayna Early, Daniel Mullady and Riad Azar. They are joining the Barnes-Jewish West offices of Drs. Themistocles Dassopoulos and Chien-Huan Chen.

The five Washington University physicians will rotate their schedules between Barnes-Jewish Hospital and their new offices at Barnes-Jewish West. In addition, Barnes-Jewish West is in the process of recruiting three new Washington University faculty members who will practice solely at the Creve Coeur campus, according to Larry Tracy, Barnes-Jewish West’s chief operating officer.

“The need for interventional GI work continues to grow,” Tracy said. “As we were looking for a strategy to meet that need, we felt the affiliation with Washington University was a good opportunity.”

Edmundowicz said his group’s expertise in treating conditions such as diseases affecting the pancreas and gallbladder will “strengthen the team approach to digestive health offered to patients” at Barnes-Jewish West, which is licensed for 113 beds.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 612,000 hospitalizations for gastrointestinal illnesses occur in the United States each year.

As Washington University has increased its overall presence on the West County campus over the past two years, the mix of faculty physicians versus private physicians practicing at the hospital has changed from 70 percent private physicians and 30 percent Washington University physicians in 2007 to more of a 50-50 breakdown among the 630 physicians currently practicing at Barnes-Jewish West.

The number of patients seen at Barnes-Jewish West by faculty physicians has increased by more than 10 percent in the past year, Tracy said.

Tracy said the hospital is in the midst of putting together a strategic plan to continue to recruit both private physicians and additional Washington University faculty to its campus. The hospital is also planning for facility expansions to meet the needs of an expanded staff.

Tracy said demand for physician office space is particularly strong. The campus’ current office space is 99.5 percent leased. “I basically have a telephone and a closet left,” he said.

Initially, build-out will involve modification of current facilities, with facility expansions being planned for the 2013 or 2014 capital cycle.

The hospital hopes to keep a 50-50 mix of private and faculty doctors as it grows, Tracy said.